Accessibility Links

From juggler to leader: Scott Parker’s 18 year rise to England captain

Ben Smith

February 29 2012, 2:10pm, The Times

He was unable to prevent West Ham from relegationAnthony Devlin/PA

Captain, leader, child star of McDonald’s adverts: Scott Parker’s 18-year rise from the precocious kid whose ball-juggling skills appeared on our television screens in the early 1990s to an international player of genuine standing is complete.

It is unlikely you will see any banners bearing the name of the new England captain at Wembley this evening. Very few of the 90,000 supporters will carry his name on the back of their replica shirts but Parker represents a clean break for the national team, a respected figure who does not bring the baggage of past failed campaigns with him.

In many ways Parker has always felt out of place on the international stage, with successive England managers believing that he lacked the discipline and zip needed…